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In the News (Thu 14 Dec 17)

A civilian airport at Whenuapai can be classed as a local work, provided WCC have statutory authority to undertake the work and provided it remains in control of the work.

The Crown would need to indicate to WCC that Whenuapai is likely to become surplus and it would consider WCC's request for a transfer of land for a local work at Whenuapai in the meantime, to take effect when the land is declared surplus.

Whenuapai Airport Limited and AIAL have both professed a potential interest in bidding to operate an airport and/or purchase the land.

If Whenuapai was not retained as an airport, Waitakere would not allow the site to be developed for alternative uses as it is outside of the City's planned growth areas and such development would be in direct contradiction of the city planning processes and goals noted above in question 5.

Whenuapai is not a theoretical site, it is currently an airport and is ideally placed relative to population growth, land transport networks and areas of urban development.

As a result of the Government announcement earlier this year that the Air Force was not moving to Ohakea for probably another 8 years, plans by Waitakere City to develop a commercial airport at Whenuapai appeared at that time to be scuttled.

The residents of Whenuapai, Herald Island, Greenhithe, Paremoremo and Albany, who will be subjected to a considerable increase in noise and air pollution from a commercial airport must strenuously object to the Waitakere City proposal.

Further details are set out in Whenuapai Report.

www.waag.co.nz (265 words)

Defence Long-Term Development Plan (LTDP) May 2002(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)

Whenuapai could, therefore, continue to support the operations of the maritime surveillance and air transport aircraft.

An upgrade of the runway is essential if Whenuapai is to continue as an operational base and to support an increase in air traffic.

An upgrade of the hardstanding area is essential for Whenuapai to continue as an operational base and to support an increase in air traffic.

Whenuapai School opened in 1957 and has grown to a U5 (400 pupil) institution.

Whenuapai School boasts a proud record of sporting and academic achievements.

Whenuapai Primary School first opened for business in September 1957 with a roll of 220 children.

www.whenuapai.school.nz /about.html (375 words)

Ride Safe(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)

Whenuapai is an operational Air Force base, as well as an ideal piece of real estate for rider training, and it is a huge concession to be able to operate our course there.

BRONZ has to stay squeaky clean with the Base Command at Whenuapai to preserve the privilege (it is not a right) to operate there.

The Manual addresses such aspects of RRRS as where we operate on the base, how we police the area (remove all objects, clear up any fluid spills, etc.), which should go a long way to assuring the Air Force we are not a secret threat to national security.

www.bronz.org.nz /Auckland/ride_safe.htm (1149 words)

Encyclopedia: Whenuapai(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)

The Royal New Zealand Air Force or RNZAF is the air operations arm of the New Zealand Defence Force.

There is a lot of controversy and dispute surrounding Whenuapai currently, focused about the Airbase.

In 6-10 years from now (the timing is vague) the Royal New Zealand Air Force is due to shift out of Whenuapai Aerodrome to Ohakea.

Assembled at Oahu and BOC with Unit 19, Whenuapai on 13 December 1943.

www.adf-serials.com /nz-serials/nz4501.shtml (5943 words)

NZDF - Current Media Releases(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)

The Minister today also released a discussion document for public consultation on the future of Whenuapai which is available on http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/public-documents/consultation/index.html.

The consultation document notes that future use of the 311 ha site would aim to sustain economic development of the North West Auckland region and the Auckland region in general and would be required to take into account the New Zealand Transport Strategy, the Tourism Strategy 2010 and the Sustainable Cities programme.

Whenuapai is expected to become available for development in five years time when the RNZAF consolidates at Ohakea.

The name is (The Oceanic language spoken by the Maori people in New Zealand) Maori for good land.

Whenuapai is the site of the former Auckland (An airfield equipped with control tower and hangers as well as accommodations for passengers and cargo) airport, superseded by the international facility to the south of the city at (additional info and facts about Mangere) Mangere.

Until recently, the airfield was used by the (additional info and facts about Royal New Zealand Air Force) Royal New Zealand Air Force, and it has been suggested as a potential site for a second major airport for Auckland.

Infratil spokesman Tim Brown said today that a commercial airport at Whenuapai is potentially a sound venture for an investor taking a long term view.

Infratil envisages that a commercial airport at Whenuapai would never approach the scale of Mangere, but that it could readily be the base for low cost air services to New Zealand cities and towns, to the east coast of Australia and destinations in the Pacific.

Mr Brown said it would be ludicrous to tear down the Whenuapai airport and breakup the runways without even attempting to create a commercial airport and business park.

First flight in New Zealand by a Hudson was test flight at Hobsonville by this aircraft 19 May 1941.

Destroyed in takoff accident at Whenuapai after depth charges exploded 11 June 1942.

Ran off runway during takeoff in fog at Whenuapai 20 May 1943.

www.adf-serials.com /nz-serials/nz2001.shtml (5755 words)

Enterprise North Shore...Reports and Research(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)

The New Zealand Defence Force is consolidating its airbase operations from Whenuapai in Waitakere City, to its Ohakea Airbase in Manawatu, by 2007.

All interested parties that may be affected by the consolidation of airbase operations away from Whenuapai have been encouraged to make submissions to public consultation conducted by the New Zealand Defence Force.

A discussion document released during October by the New Zealand Defence Force refers to NZ Institute of Economic Research estimates that indicate closure of the Whenuapai Airbase will equate to a loss of $103 million a year out of the local economy and the loss of as many as 1,060 jobs.

Whenuapai has been rejected as an international airport for Auckland in the past.

A Whenuapai commercial airport would cost the country almost $238 million in the 25 years after its construction, through additional airport and airline costs, border control costs, impacts on land values and loss of scale economies.

The limited range of services likely at Whenuapai means that passengers would come to both Mangere and Whenuapai airports from all across Auckland, more on a pro rata basis relative to population, rather than the airports predominantly serving those areas close to them.

The RNZAF is reducing the size of its operations with at Whenuapai with a view to vacating within the next five years.

This will have implications for the economies of the City and the region and while the timing and process are not yet clear it is important that the Council is in a position to react positively when the Ministry of Defence sets out its detailed proposals.

The campaign to retain Whenuapai as an airport has another ally- this time in the form of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

Mail was carried from RNZAF Station, Whenuapai for NZ servicemen in Montreal.

When the RNZAF Base was moved forward from Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides to Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, Schedule 7 was replaced by Schedule 7A and the flights left Whenuapai each Tuesday and Sunday.

The event was an opportunity for past and present members of No 5 Squadron, together with Defence Ministry, NZDF and aviation industry representatives to celebrate the Squadron's contribution to New Zealand and its defence partners' maritime surveillance and security.

Between 4 and 6 November 2002, three sorties were flown from Whenuapai in the hope of locating a beacon which had been activated about 500 nautical miles off New Zealand's East Cape.

The celebration kicked off with a handling display over Whenuapai, showing that, even at 36 years of age, the Orion, older than most of its crews, is still one of the most athletic aircraft in its class, and that there is still plenty of life left in the airframes.

www.rsa.org.nz /review/art2002december/article_6.html (577 words)

David Farrar: Whenuapai Airport(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)

I don't think that Whenuapai should be made a commercial airport but I definitely don't think it should be ploughed under either.

The problem with Whenuapai is that Infratil and Waitemata City want a sweetheart deal with the Govt, and they don’t pay for the place, and only pay a sort of low ground rent.

If Whenuapai was to prove un-economic then it will be the first time that Infratil has been wrong about any investment (apart froma small greenie power scheme in Aust) since they were floated.

Air Force Operations at Whenuapai are to be consolidated at Ohakea Airbase in approximately five years, and the disposal of the land (311 hectares) has generated significant interest by a variety of groups.

“Decisions on the future of the Whenuapai land must be made through appropriate consultation with all interested parties.

It is essential that we use this time wisely, working through a transparent decision-making process that will allow all groups with an interest in the future use of Whenuapai to have their submissions fully and fairly considered by the Government.”

It concludes the first stage of the process, and supports the need for a thorough analysis as the next step in determining any future use of the land.

Jim Anderton said that "much of the debate that surrounds Whenuapai’s future involves whether it should be retained as an airport.

Before a decision can be made, it is clear that the implications of this option need to be investigated further - notably whether or not there is a need for a second commercial airport in the Auckland region, the national and strategic considerations, and the likely local impacts.

The New Zealand airforce, which currently uses the Whenuapai airport, is expected to consolidate its operations at another base over a 5-year period.

"The value of the Whenuapai site is such that an airport would not be the economically optimal use of the site," he said.

The future use of the land has attracted keen interest since Infratil Ltd. (A.IFT), a New Zealand infrastructure investor, indicated that it is interested in Whenuapai for the possible development of a second commercial airport in the city.

archives.californiaaviation.org /airport/msg28916.html (522 words)

United Future New Zealand - United Future Press Release(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)

The Government should seriously review its plan to dispose of Whenuapai airbase, and look at transforming it into a second Auckland airport, United Future said today.

Auckland MPs, Paul Adams and Bernie Ogilvy, and transport spokesman Larry Baldock, put the case for the use of the base as a second airport to a receptive United Future caucus today, after visiting the airbase yesterday.

The three United Future MPs visited the Whenuapai Air Base yesterday with representatives from Waitakere City Council, Enterprise Waitakere and Infratil.

Frank Radisich and Pete Sinton, the two men behind the Whenuapai Airbase bid, were two of the people to spot the impending difficulties and had been developing their proposal to ensure New Zealand would still have a viable venue when their predictions were proven to be correct.

It is possibly only a last minute option offering the Whenuapai Airbase, alongside fantastic support from ardent NZ motorsport fans that has seen AVESCO make a concerted effort to keep a round of the series in NZ.

When the initial bids to host the V8 Supercars in NZ were being considered, the idea of racing the event at the Whenuapai Airbase was treated by most as a fanciful dream for Frank Radisich, father of V8 Supercar driver, Paul, and his colleague, town planner Pete Sinton.